Before I make a leap into Linux?

What's up all just wanted to know some questions before getting my self into something I will regret later lol.

Ok as you can see on my sig I am running on a g73 model. I just recently did a fresh win7 install but left about 30gb of space for a linux distro and a linux-swap.

My question is what is everyone running on their g73 Linux wise and how stable are you running?

If there's any tips from the Gurus of what and not to use please chime in.

 

It should work fine with any Linux distribution that comes with kernel 2.6.30 or later.

 

Ok I am about to install Ubuntu quick question before install I made the required file extension ext4 and swap respectfully

I am stuck with the boot loader section since I partitioned the drive from 500gb in sections one section has my backup which is 16gb the other section my OS 300gb My linux section 30gb and swap 2gb leaving me with 85 gb for storage that i will be using for my Win7 os where would i point the bootloader installation at?

Would it be pointed to the same directory as my Ext4 where my Linux distro would be installed? Would it be ok to add the / mount point to the same directory as the bootloader?

 

ya the norm is to have your boot directory in your main (root /) partition but u could make a separate /boot partition of a few hundred megs if you wanted. In any case you should install the grub bootloader to the mbr instead of a partition. The bootloader just points to the boot directory where your initrd images are that load linux.

 

OK, let me chime in a bit. Ignore it if you already know what I am saying.

1. Reduce the size of the Windows partition and create a new, unassigned partition for Ubuntu. This part is best done in Windows.

2. Reboot the machine with the Ubuntu install CD in the drive. Eventually, Ubuntu installation will give you a list of 3 options. Pick the manual option.

3. You are shown a diagram of the partitions. Select the free partition you created earlier. Within it, create a physical partition for swap at the end (rightmost area) of the free partition. If you have 4GB RAM, assign 5GB of disk to the swap, or if you have 2GB RAM, assign 3GB to the swap; that seems to be the rule of thumb, anyway. Next, back to the diagram, point to the free partition and create the boot/root/main/home partition at the beginning (leftmost area) of the free partition; give all remaining gigabytes to it.

4. Forward. (Certain people may want finer control over the various physical and logical partitions. But I find the mimalist approach works just fine.)

5. GRUB2 will overwrite the MBR and make Windows one of the boot options.

 

Just for clarification:
@FlowCPU:
What you call "file extension" is usually called "file system" and what you call "section" or "directory" is called "partition". (I'm not trying to be the wisenheimer, but this might prevent misunderstandings in further communication.)

@Kaso:
About the rule of thumb:
If you have 2 GB of RAM or more you usually don't need any swap unless you do real RAM-demanding things (e.g. VMs, Video/image processing). And the more RAM you have the less swap you'll need. But setting a certain amount up is surely no bad idea.
The reason for this rule "swap = RAM +X" is mainly suspend to disk. This only works if your whole RAM fits into the swap.

 

I was trying to find out if it's possible to boot off my second hard drive from linux?

If so can I get some guidance on how too?

 

If you mean that you want to chose the OS to boot by selecting the corresponding HDD in the BIOS boot menu, just install your Linux boot manager in the MBR or the 2nd HDD.

 

Probably not what you want but it is still an option especially if you are just starting out.

Use Wubi. Download it using Windows 7. Run it. Chose in what disk you want Ubuntu to be in, chose the size, your username, and you password. Chose how much space it should take and install it.

It will install Ubuntu on the disk you tell it to, it will take care of all the booting settings leaving your Win 7 boot practically intact. It will give you the option of what OS to load when you boot up your computer.

To uninstall Ubuntu just remove it from the Program and Features menu in Windows 7 just like any other program.

Safe, easy, and convenient.

Just sayin'...

 

virtual box....try it in a VM or Wubi first.